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Wrackmire
The 'Wrackmire'Deriving from a phonetic continuation of the Old Common name for the region, Wræc-myrr, the Swamp of the Exiles. is a swampy region in the South-East Arathi Highlands. An inhospitable region, the Wrackmire is home to a handful of small settlements and a single township, Stilvatr, and borders the last major forest in the Highlands. Geography and Geology Some 200 miles from the capital, the Wrackmire marsh covers an area of roughly 150 square miles, consisting largely of low-lying vegetation, some small stands of forest on the larger bars of peat and sand. The underlying stones consist largely of sandstone and alluvial deposits, clay and solidified silt, with some areas dominated by limestone. These areas are home to treacherously deep and often hidden sink holes, due to the water dissolving the stone. Sphagnum mosses and low grasses dominate in the marsh, often forming rafts over hollows and depressions in the landscape. The region has seen major shifts during the post-Imperial periods, as land reclamation projects have helped to diminish the once great mire in many areas. The most recent such major project occured in 433KY, capturing another 25 square miles for human habitation and cultivation. History Pre-Imperial Period There are no records of habitation of the Wrackmire in the pre-Imperial period, though the early Imperial explorers recorded finding a great number of abandoned troll villages. The available evidence suggests that the forest troll tribes once dominated the entire region and fled following the crushing defeat of the Amani Empire in the Troll Wars, leaving the area uninhabited and dotted with eery, rotting ruins. The Wraec-Myrr is referenced in preserved songs believed to date to the late pre-Imperial period, though always as somewhere frightening and unsafe. Imperial Period For the entire span of the Imperial Period, the Wrackmire saw no permanent civilian settlements. While this period saw its name earned, with exiled tribesmen early in the reign of the Emperors and deserters from the Imperial Army forced to reside in the swamp. These exiles formed temporary nomadic settlements but rarely survived long enough to find broader social connections. The exceptions were in those exiles who settled near the newly established Caer WitanmareiWitanmarei deriving from the Gothic for 'to keep watch' and 'lake', an Arathorian Legion fortress established to keep those same exiles from organizing and threatening the safety of neighbouring territories. The small town around Caer Witanmarei largely provided services to the Legion - primarily manual labour, swamp-hunting, and fur-trading. It soon take on the name of Stilvatr, named for the stagnant lake the fortress was built beside, and with the introduction of prostitution and soldier's wives to the region began to develop a stable population. It would not reach any real significance for some centuries, however, and remained a small village throughout the period. Dissolution Period Warring Kingdoms Period Recent Years . (Art by the talented Munin Raven)]]The Wrackmire has been in decline since the last days of the Second War, when Dragonmaw raids began to target broader swathes of territory in a last-ditch effort to delay Alliance forces (and, following the defeat of the Horde, to take revenge and continue the fight.) With few fortifications in the sparsely settled swampland, each raid caused great damage to the settlements targetted, and few of the raiders were ever succesfully felled. With the constant threat of draconic attack and the economic turmoil caused by the post-War depression, much of the already marginal population of the region fled to the capital or to Lordaeron. Only after the liberation of Alexstrasza did they begin to return in small trickles. Shortly after, the assassination of Thoras Trollbane led to even further economic turmoil in the nation, and the Wrackmire became increasingly isolated by distance and lack of valuable trade goods with sustainable value. Fur and herb prices plummeted while grain and basic commodities prices skyrocketed, making it almost impossible for the region's merchants, churches and nobles to procure sufficient outside food to feed the people. Without farming or outside supply, many of the returned refugees fled once again, taking their families and friends with them. The final blow to the region was the rise of the Witherbark tribe as a serious threat. Troll raiders burned and looted many of the outlying farms and fisheries, further isolating the district capital and raising additional fears. With Baron Ragnar unable to protect his people, the bulk of the remaining population fled, either to outlying regions of the Highlands, Stilvatr, or to Stormwind in the south, and the Wrackmire became a truly desolate place, home to only a few hundred. Following the First Arathi Civil War and the subsequent political turmoil, matters improved slightly with the reintroduction of the Palatinate. Supplies were sent to Stilvatr, along with displaced families from the Western Highlands, in order to maintain control over the region and continue the harvest of the peat bogs, used to provide fuel for homes and military posts throughout the Kingdom. Today, the Wrackmire is largely uninhabited outside of Stilvatr and a few outlying peat-harvesting shanty-towns, and the collapse of the Palatinate has begun to significantly weaken its position, as the economic importance of the peat is once again underestimated by the squabbling factions contesting the administration of the disintegrating Kingdom. Baron Roderick lacks the men, experience, and raw will needed to hold the unforgiving swamps against the continuing predations of the Trolls, and families once again look to greener pastures in the North and South. A nascent agreement of mutual aid and support between Baron Roderick and Baron Heinrich of the Fiend's Coast may prove sufficient to drive off the Troll threat, but prospects for the Wrackmire are dismal. Major Settlements Stilvatr Home to just under two thousand people, Stilvatr is the only major settlement in the Mire. It serves as the seat of the Barony and as a significant trade post, exchanging peat and hides for good grain and timber. Originally built on one of the few areas of stable soil in the Mire, Stilvatr has been expanded through both land reclamation efforts and by stilt-based building into the marsh itself. Notable Figures Category:Arathi Highlands Category:Realms of Stromgarde Category:Swamps Category:Places Category:Geography